After three weeks of basically nothing but Pierre McGuire talk and groundless speculation, the Penguins finally made their decision on a GM, and then in almost the same breath fired their coach.

Rumors began early Friday that the Pens would be announcing their new GM, and it didn’t take long before Bob McKenzie broke the news that it would be Jim Rutherford. Initial reaction on the internet was predictable, no word on how many keyboards were sacrificed.

Rutherford made good with the fanbase when he immediately fired incumbent coach Dan Bylsma before even saying hello. Obviously this decision had all but been made for him, but it was more or less the best possible way for him to be introduced.

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All in all it made for one of the most interesting days in recent memory for this team, and we’re all #blessed to watch it go down on the Twitter machine.

Jim Rutherford is going to be announced as the new GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. #TSN

In the end, it made perfect sense for the Pens to wait this process out and be thorough. Jason Botterill, the favorite of many to be the successor, ends up staying with the team, while Rutherford will oversee the group for the immediate future. The next step will be finding a coach. Until then.